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Seadogs
The SeaDogs - SeaSongs, Shanties and Maritime Music Performance Group Started in 1986 - Present. STILL PERFORMING The Seadogs are a group of performers (currenlty 15 in number) who perform Nautical music and songs, with a healthy injection of comedy and sailor-y theatrics. Several instrumentalists, along with an entire group of talented singers who perform a wide range of seafaring music...from old world shanties & work songs done in the traditional style, to more upbeat interpretations of classic sea-songs, to modern & original seafaring music. The Seadogs have been entertaining west coast audiences for over 20 years, and have a strong background in entertaining audiences both young and old in nearly every conceivable venue. The History of The Seadogs The Seadogs started out as the brainchild of a small group of workers at a Renaissance Faire gaming booth. They thought it would be fun and add to the ambiance of the booth if they were to decorate the building with a nautical theme and dress up as "pirates"… Little did they realize at the time how far that idea would blossom, grow and take on a life of it's own over the following twenty years! With much more historical research on costuming and theatrics (pirates weren't really appropriate for a 16th-century renaissance festival), as well as a handful of songs and improvisational street gigs, the Seadogs became a group of renaissance sailors and sea captains. And in 1986, under the leadership of the group's first director - Eric Lethe, they premiered as their first year as an officially-recognized performance group at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire in Novato, California. They were immediately thereafter accepted as a performance and singing group at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire in Agoura, Ca. Under the new directorial leadership of Robin Driskill, they added to their arsenal of performance a vast repertoire of sailor songs and shanties, and began to focus very heavily on high-quality improv comedy and street theatre. As the years went on, the Seadogs grew in number and notoriety, becoming one of the best-recognized staples of entertainment of many West Coast Renaissance-themed events. In 1991, Steve Morales became the director of the group. Soon thereafter they began adding comedy stage shows to their list of entertainment - all based on nautical themes (Sinbad, Sam Starboard, Tales of Atlantis & Captain Hops to name a few). They also began to be respected by the Renaissance Faire community as one of the best-loved acapella singing groups around. It wasn't long before they decided they needed to have instruments too - and what luck that several of members of the group were accomplished musicians! And although the renaissance themed venues were a lot of fun, they were also far too limiting for a group whose members were fanatical about sea-faring tunes...so it wasn't too much longer before the Seadogs ventured into the "two great" sea-musical eras: "Turn of the Century Maritime" & "Swashbuckling Pirates!". It's all up-hill from there... Over the last decade, the Seadogs have spread their particular brand of performance to include a wider-range of nautical-themed entertainment. They have performance mediums for pirates of the swashbuckling era, mariners of the dickensian times & golden age of sail, and renaissance sailors - to name a few of their favorites. Each performance style comes complete with appropriate themed costuming, themed acting (spoken accents and behaviors) and songs & music of the time. They have many instruments and professional musicians, professional-level actors who pass a rigorous audition and training process, craftspeople skilled in nautical handiwork, and have built up a vast stock of costumes, props and even themed construction with which they create Nautical performance areas & stages at larger events. The Seadogs now perform at a wide variety of events throughout the year and are in high demand. Their venues range from Renaissance & Dickensian Festivals, to Yacht Clubs & Radio promotions, to pirate shows and Winery events, from Local Fairs to Tall Ships Festivals. They have been credited as "The World's Largest Nautical-Themed Band" (once topping out at a group roster of 55 members) and only time will tell where they'll turn up next… The SeaDogs of Brisol Harbor* The Bristol Harbour Seadogs (aka *Seadogs* or *Sea Dogs*) were a segment of the Bristol Fight Cast By the Sword (Bristol) that portrayed the "Goode Guys." The other half of the fight cast portrayed The Guards who were the "Badde Guys." The theme ran from 1994 to 2002. This wildly popular theme was borrowed from a group of performers at the California Renaissance Pleasure Faire in Novato, California. The Bristol cast quickly made it their own with engaging characters, fun scripts and regularly scheduled "reigns of terror" that ensured the action was taken to all points of the compass. In 1994, the Seadogs were created, with Captain Nick Cutter as their leader. The evil Sir Edward Coke was their foil. In 1997, the Seadog Web Site was created to "one-up" the Guards who did something cool (?) to one-up the Seadogs for having their own trading cards. The Bristol Discussion Board evolved directly from this web site, and all elements of the Seadogs vs. Guards theme was dropped from what became a discussion forum for the Bristol Renaissance Faire community. The final season of the Seadogs was 2002. After that season, it was replaced by the Robin Hood theme, itself borrowed from the New York Renaissance Faire. After the end of the Robin Hood theme in 2012 the Seadogs returned to Bristol Renaissance Faire in the 2013 season with new stories and a new crew of sailors to protect the town of Bristol. External Links Southern CA Seadog Site Category:Bristol Renaissance Faire Category:Renaissance Pleasure Faire